The study, funded by the Cancer Research Foundation UK (CRUK) and involving 120,000 women in 7 countries, revealed that being overweight significantly increases the risk of uterine cancer.
According to the study, if a woman who is 1.65 m tall is 12 kilograms above a healthy weight, the risk of uterine cancer almost doubles.
CRUK pointed out that a healthy weight can reduce the risk of 13 different cancers.
Other risk factors for cancer include genes and hormones.
fasting insulin
One theory is that fat cells send signals to divide more frequently to other cells, causing cancer.
A connection is established between the growth of some breast cancers and the female hormone estrogen, which is also produced by fat cells.
The research, led by a team at the University of Bristol and published in BMC Medicine, is one of the largest studies of the link between fat and uterine cancer.
The study looked at the impact of lifetime weight gain and revealed two hormones linked to obesity and uterine cancer, fasting insulin and testosterone.
The researchers hope to study drugs to regulate the levels of these hormones in people at risk of developing cancer in the future.
vaginal bleeding
The head of the team, Dr. “It’s an interesting first step in how genetic analysis can be used to reveal exactly how obesity causes cancer and what can be done to combat it,” said Emma Hazelwood.
CRUK official Dr. According to Julie Shar, “Studies like this support the fact that being overweight or obese is the second largest cause of cancer in the UK and can help us identify why:
“This will play a crucial role in uncovering how to prevent and treat cancer in the future.”
One in 36 women in the UK develops uterine cancer, and one in four people diagnosed develops this cancer in the premenopausal period.
The most common symptom of uterine cancer is abnormal vaginal bleeding.
How is Body Mass Index calculated?
According to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), a Body Mass Index (BMI) should be between 18.5 and 24.9 for a healthy weight.
Body Mass Index is calculated according to the formula: Height squared in kilograms / meters (kg/m2)
(For the shortcut calculation You can use the website of the Ministry of Health.)
For example, if your weight is 65 kg and your height is 1.68 m, then you are in the healthy category with BMI = 65/1.68×1.68, ie 65/2.8224 = 23.0 body mass index.
BMI categories: